Posted on Seasoned Posts

Information overload: a public relator’s risk, but also an opportunity….

In a report here from an Iabc conference last February in Lugano I suggested a thorough consultation of Martin Eppler and Jeanne Mengis ‘s research paper on informaton overload as the best presentation of that conference. I attached the paper, but was immediately warned by a Iabc Guardian that the paper was not for consultation by non Iabc members, and was kindly requested to take it down. I was then (and am today) happy to...

Posted on Seasoned Posts

Culture and Public Relations: a letter from Bled, Slovenia

As many of our visitors know, Bled is a small and lovely Slovenian town on the shores of a charming lake where, for 16 consecutive years, a trio of committed and intelligent public relations scholars: Dejan Vercic, Danny Moss and Jon White, successfully convene, every first weekend of July, la ‘crème de la crème’ of global public relations thinking to listen to and discuss papers presented by young, old and middle aged students, scholars and...

Posted on Seasoned Posts

The ethical state, social communication and public relations…

How effective are social communication campaigns, specifically when they are enacted by public institutions and their aim is to con-vince publics to modify their day-to-day behaviours? The amount of literature is overwhelming and highly contradictory. Of course governments and other public agencies or institutions, normally advised by many of our colleagues who thrive on the trade and tickle the ego of these organization’s leaderships, tend to overlook and set aside the contradictory evidence. Yet recent...

Posted on Seasoned Posts

A RESET of our profession? Takeaways from Global PR directors of General Electric, Pfizer, Mastercard, Kodak, Bausch and Lomb, Swiss RE, Viacom

The day after Pfizer announced it would ensure free medicines to laid-off and non insured workers for one year, Ray Kerins, head of global pr for the big pharma company (‘we are 50 bl. dollar start up company’ he says…) told an attentive audience of colleagues representing agencies from all over the world, that the idea had not come from top management nor from him, but directly from employees who gathered around internal social networks.

Posted on Seasoned Posts

Should you avoid ’sinking the boat’ or ‘missing the boat’? The New Yorker on advertising spent. Does it also apply to public relations?

Some of you, I am sure, have read The Wisdom of Crowds, a 2004 book by James Surowiecki, financial editor of The New Yorker. It is a very inspiring book and, although hardly citing public relations, it is for us what one might call a ‘professional book’, in the sense that it clearly illustrates how by listening carefully to a specific public, an organizational decision whose consequences relate to that public and/or vice versa will...

Posted on Seasoned Posts

Dear Santa, a four-pronged wish list for public relators in 2009 from a non believer. Be sure to check out the fourth, as it relates directly to YOU, visitor/reader/commenter of this blog!

1. Please discourage my colleagues from offering, arguing, pushing individual as well as organizational visibility as a ‘strategic’ and desirable objective. Peeing in the pot is more strategic and less polluting. If it makes sense to expect a substantial reduction in organizational advertising investments, it also makes sense to anticipate a reduction of editorial pages which, in turn, reduces media relations activities. Subsequently many of my colleagues will find time to think about many other...

Posted on Seasoned Posts

Journalists support role of PR

The global automotive industry, and particularly the Big 3 US car companies, have been making the headlines regarding its future survival in the economic downturn.  What is interesting is the level of support for PR emerging from journalists who are actually considering the impact of losing players in this huge industry. Automotive News reports how Ford’s CEO, “Mulally has identified the public’s skepticism as a barrier to Ford’s long-term recovery” and goes on to state:...

Posted on PR Sphere

Communications chief, Barry Patterson, describes the CFC’s 20th year, including how stakeholders spontaneously serve as brand ambassadors (updated)

The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) launches Canada's most creative ideas and voices in film, television and new media to the world. From April 2008 to March 2009 the CFC—Canada’s largest advanced-training institution for media professionals—celebrates 20 years of bringing inspiring storytellers to the world.